Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow! + As a tree printable coloring page

November 9, 2016

If
you're an American like me and at all paying attention, you were probably up
late last night watching the election results roll in--to your delight, dismay,
or bewilderment depending on your point of view (and if you're grieving today, I'm truly sorry, and please take your time processing).

(This
reminds me of how there is a massive construction project carving up a whole
hill down the street from our house--a new "luxury living" university
student housing development called "The Retreat." We drive by often
and my five-year-old says "Oh, look at the destruction!" My baby boy
says, "WOW" to all the big diggers. The elderly man now living in a
formerly quiet neighborhood just shakes his head. A lot depends on your point
of view, I suppose, and I respect my friends and their real concerns on both
sides.)

We all put our hope in
something or someone. Some event. Some goal. Some person. Some ideal.

If your
hope isn't in a political party, maybe it's your particular brand of doing
church. Or maybe your great hopes for your children or your career. Or maybe
it's in a friendship or marriage or family.

In my experience, those things just don't deliver consistently.

My dad
reminded me of this verse from Jeremiah this morning as we talked over last night's events:

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its
roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain
green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear
fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV)

There is
nothing and no one better, friends. Your leaders, your political party
allegiances, your friends, your family, your spouse. They cannot be where you sink your roots. They
are not an ever-flowing river. They do not drive out fear and anxiety.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'""
(John 7:38 ESV)

Whatever the "climate" where we're planted,
we can bear fruit, fruit born of the fullness of the Spirit in us
(Galatians 5:22, Colossians 2:10--illustrated HERE). Yes, things will still hurt and disappoint and perplex us, but they don't have to capture us with fear, dry us up, or move us.

Let's sink our roots down deep friends and be "oaks of righteousness, the planting of the
LORD, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah
61:3 ESV).

Let's be known for clearly being "the Lord's," not the
right's or left's, or in-between's.

Today's printable Bible verse coloring page is from Jeremiah
17:7-8. You can download your page in SpanishHERE or in English HERE, or by clicking on the images below!*

PRAYING the Word

God, we are thirsty for you. We need a hope that is unchanging
today. Help us put our trust and all our hope in You. Help us bear fruit to
your glory. Help us be a light in our neighborhoods, our schools, our
workplaces, our homes, our cities, and our nation(s).

QUESTIONS to consider:

1.
What kind of things have been "your trust," but have disappointed
you?

2. How
can you daily practice putting your trust in the LORD?

3. Are
you fearful and anxious today? What clues are fear and anxiety sending you
about where your hope is placed?

*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! Use for Bible studies, church groups or events, and Sunday school classes are all fine! If you're in doubt, I'm happy to answer any questions. All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!

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Thank you for providing these coloring pages. Though I don't seem to stay inside the lines a whole lot better than when I was young, I find much pleasure in coloring and I am more forgiving of the less-than-perfection of the completed projects. :-) A question: Would it be a reasonable request that you use the Jeremiah 17 picture and fill in some of the beginning words of Psalm 1? My mother chose Psalm 1 for the gravestone for my dad's (and now her) grave and it hods so much meaning to me. I have searched and found little other than yours, which seems a perfect scene already there. Surely, I am not the only one with a liking towards Psalm 1! Thank you for considering ~ M Sue